Casket placing device



July 15, 1941.y c. E. `caEHLlsAcl-l 2,249,126

GASKET PLAGING DEVICE July 15, 194.1. c. E. GEHLBACH 2,249,126

GASKET PLACING DEVICE Filed Feb. 5, 1940 4 sheets-sheet 2 c.v E..GEHLBACH 2,249,126 GASKET PLAGING DEVICE- Filled Feb. 5, 1940 ASheets-Sheet 3 Hit.-

Patented July 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENTY OFFICE GASKET PLAonvGDEVICE clarence E. Gehlbach, Corydon, ma.

Application February 5, 1940, Serial No. 317,426

(ci. ,2v-V30) 11 Claims.

This invention relates to burial apparatus and more particularly to anovel form of casket placing device.

The object of the invention is to provide a comparatively simple andthoroughly efficient device of the class described for placing a casketover a grave and lowering the same to the Ytop of lthe grave or onto theusual lowering device for interment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a casket placing devicecomprising a frame adapted to be positioned over a grave and providedwith main and auxiliary supporting rollers on which the casket isinitially placed during the burial ceremony, means being provided forlowering said rollers with the casket thereon and means forautomatically releasing the main supporting rollers when the casketreaches its lowermost position to permit said rollers to swing or dropto the side of the grave and out 'of the way while the casket is beinglowered into the grave.

A further object is to provide a sectional auxiliary roller and' meansassociated therewith for locking the sections thereof in operativeposition and releasing" said sections priorjto lowering? the casket.

` A further object is to provide a safety lock or catch for one of themain supporting rollers to prevent rotation thereof and consequentlongitudinal displacement of the casket while in position on the device.

A still further object of the invention is Vgenerally to improve thisclass of devices so as to increase their utility, durability andefficiency.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part ofv this specification andin which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts inall figures of the drawings:`

Figure 1 isa side elevation of a casket placing device embodying thepresent invention, showing the same in position on a supporting frame orlowering device. Y

Figure 2 is a top plan view, Y

Figure 3 is an end elevation showing the v4construction of the sprocketwheels and chains for raising and lowering a casket, Y

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the adaptation of gearing for thispurpose, y

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the main rollers and itsassociated parts', one end of the roller being shown just after it hasbeen released from the adjacent sliding block to permit said roller to.drop or swing downwardly within a grave,

Figure 5a is a side elevation showing the construction of the squaredend of the roller shown in Figure 5, l

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through one of the slidingblocksshowing the construction of the spring-pressed locking bolt,

`Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the sliding blocks showing theconstruction of the safety lock for preventing rotation of the adjacentmain roller,

Figure 8 is a front elevation of the safety'lock with the cover platethereof removed, the parts being shown in full lines in inoperativeposition and in dotted lines in operative position,

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the mechanism employed for normallyholding the sections of the auxiliary roller in a horizontal position,

Figure l0 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when theoperating lever is moved to released position to permit dropping of theing' in dotted lines th'normal position ofthe sections of the auxiliaryroller,

Figure 1l is a side elevation of Figure 10 showadjacent stub section ofthe auxiliary roller and in full lines-said section in lowered orreleased position,

Figure 12 is a perspective View of the mecha- Y Y nism shown in Figure 9detached, the parts being separated for sake of clearness,

Figure 13 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line I3-l3 ofFigure 2, and

Figure 14 is a plan view on a reduced scale of one form of frame orlowering device used in connection with the placing device.

The Vimproved casket placing device forming the subject-matter of thepresent invention comprises an elongated frame 5 adapted to bepositioned over a grave and rest on a supporting trame or standardlowering device, indicated at F. The frame 5 comprises longitudinallydisposed sidev bars 6 preferably angular in cross section and havingtheir inner ends spaced apart and slidably mounted in a connectingcasing l so as to permit longitudinal adjustment of the bars to shortenor lengthen the frame. The bars Bare formed with graduations 8 to permitac- Y Y I2 are connected by front and rear end walls I3 and I4, and saidend walls as well as the longitudinal side bars of the frame areprovided with spaced hooks I5 from which may be suspended suitablefabric or grass drapery, indicated at I6.

Secured to the longitudinal bars 6 are depending vertical frames I1having their lower ends closed and their inner side walls provided withguiding tongues I8 and I9, the guiding tongue I8 being preferablyshorter than the guiding tongueIS' to form a recess 20 adjacent theclosed end of the frame. The frames I1 are reinforced and strengthenedby the provision of relatively short horizontal bars 2l having theirinner ends bolted to the frames I 1 and their outer ends bolted toupright members 22 disposed adjacent the corner posts. The lower endsofA the upright members 22 are formed with concave seats 23 adapted tolit over the cylindrical Iend rails of thesupporting frame or loweringdevice F. Secured to the frames I1 are flat vertically disposed stripsI1', the lower ends of `which Vare formed with concave seats 23" similartothe seats 23 and adapted to receive the side lrails of the loweringdevice F.' y

Mounted for vertical movement within the frames I1 are sliding blocks24and 25 having substantially rectangular openings 26 formed therein andopening through Vthe lower edge of theblocks, said openings havingbearing members or blocks 21 tted therein and carrying the main casketsupportingVrollers, indicated at 28 and 29. The bearing blocks `21 onone side of the frame are pivotally mounted, at 30, within transverseopenings 3| adapted to receive a lockf ing bolt 32. vThe bolts 32 are`slidably mounted in the guide blocks and seated in awrecess y33 in theadjacent sliding4 block is` a leaf spring 34, the tendency of which isto normally and yieldf ably hold the outer end of the bolt in contact fwith the adjacent tongue I8.

Mounted, at 35, on the sliding block 24 is a lever 35 and cooperatingwith the free end of said lever is a pivoted pawl or latch 31so that bydepressing the lever 3 6 and then moving the locking pawl 31 inengagement therewith the spring 34 will actuate the bolt 32 to enter therecess 2l in the adjacent bearing block 21 and thus prevent displacement.of said bearing block. When the locking lever 36 is released, however,andthe sliding block 24 reaches its lowermost position, the spring 34will retract thebolt 32 so as to release the adjacent. bearing block 21and thus permit said bearing block together with the roller 23 toswingdownwardly on its pivotal axis 30 at the side of the grave. .Oneend of one of the main rollers, preferably the roller 28, is providedwith a squared .portion 38, and mounted on the adjacent sliding block 24at said squared portion is a safety catch orlock of the constructionshown in Figures '1 and 8 of the drawings. Thissafety lock comprises. acasing 39 having a plate 40 slidably mounted therein and provided on itslower edge with an angular cut-out portion 4I adapted to t over thesquared portion 3B of the roller 28 and lock the roller against rotationso as to prevent longitudinal displacement of the casket when. supportedon said main rollers. lrPhe plate' 4'0 'is'. yieldably supportedV withinthe casing by means of coiled springs 42 and pivotallymounted, at 43,above the plate is an operating cam 44 which, when moved to the dottedline position shown in Figure 8 of the drawings, causes the angularportion of the plate to span the angular end 38 of the roller andprevent rotation thereof, as previously described.

Extending longitudinally of the frame on opposite sides thereof andspaced from the longitudinal bars B are operating shafts 45 preferablysquare in cross section and extending through correspondingly squareopenings in worms 46 which latter mesh with worm gears 41 fitted to theends of threaded rods 48. The rods 48 are threaded through the adjacentsliding blocks 24 so that, as the rods 48 rotate, said blocks will beraised and lowered.

The operating shafts 45 are journaled in suitable bearings 49 on theupper ends of the frames I1 and the forward ends of said shafts extendthrough the adjacent corner post I2 and are provided with sprocketwheels 50 arranged at the rear of brackets 5I and provided with squareopenings which receive the angular terminals of the operating. shafts.'Secured to the front end wall I3 is a skeleton frame 52 and mounted forrotation on a stubshaft 53 extending through said skeleton frame is arelatively large sprocket wheel 54 over which is trained a sprocketchain 55. The sprocket chain 55 engages'oppositely disposed relativelysmall sprocket wheels 56' to which are secured larger sprocket wheels51. Extending around the sprocket Wheels 51 are sprocket chains 58, vtheupper ends of which are trained over the sprocket wheels'SIl so that,when the crank 'orvha'ndle 59' is rotated', the operating shafts 45through the medium ofthe worms 46 and worm -gears 4'1 will raise orlower the sliding 'blocks124, as'will be readily understood. One of themain rollers, preferably the' roller 26, is provided with spacedyieldable bands 60 preferably formed of rubber for-engagement withmetalV caskets, and's'ecured to said roller'between the yiel'd'ablebands 6U is a band 6I provided withv radiating spurs or teeth k62' forengagement with wooden caskets. Disposed between the main rollers 28 and29 is an auxiliary roller, preferablyforrned in two sections' 63 and 64having their inner ends normally spaced apart at the center of' theframe, as best shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

Secured to the casing 1 on each side of the supporting frame is a plate65 land pivotally mounted, at 66, on the plate is a cam 61 having arectangular opening 68 in one side thereof. Pivotally mounted, at 69, onthe plate 65 is an operating' lever' 10 which is, in turn, pivoted, at1I, to the cam 61 so that longitudinal movement imparted to the leverl10 wi'llturn the cam so as to cause the opening v'I8 therein to registerwith aV correspondingly shaped opening 13 in the plate 65. The 'lever 10is provided with a slot 12 and a spring 14 is preferablyinterposed'between the head of the pivot 6-8 andthe lever'1! so'as tohold said lever against the plate 65. The Outer end of the lever 1i)yis'cut away, at 15,tol accommodate the cam 61, said lever being providedwith a recess 16 disposed opposite the cut-away portions 15 and inwhicnis hingedly mounted, at 11, a bearing block 18 carrying theadjacent section 63 of the auxiliary roller. -Pivotally mounted,at`1il,` on the plat-e165 is a locking pawl 8D, the inner endV of whichisy adapted to engagea locking notch. v8l formed in said lever for thepur- 61. It will thus be seen than the cam 61 normally extends acrossthe opening 13 in the plate 65 so as to cause the lug 82 on the bearingblock 18 to bear against the cam. and thus hold the auxiliary rollersection 63 normally in a horizontal position. When the pawl 8|] isreleased,

however, and a longitudinal pull is exerted on the lever 10, the cam 61will be rotated so as to cause the slot 68 therein to register with theslot 13 in the plate65 and in which position the auxiliary rollersection 83 together with the bearing block 18 is free to swingdownwardly to the .inoperative position shown in Figures 10 and 11 ofthe drawings. It will, of course, be understood that the parts justdescribed will be arranged on each side ofthe supporting frame, as bestshown in Figure 2 of the drawings. A roller 83 preferably extendstransversely at the front of the supporting frame and disposed in aplane slightly below the plane of the main rollers 28 and 29,*thepurpose of said rollers being to receive the casket when it is placed onthe device.

In operation, the device is positioned over a grave with the seats 23engaging the end rails of the supporting frame or lowering mechanism F,after which the levers 36 are actuated so as to move the locking bolts32 within the openings 3| and in which position they are held by thepawl 31. The crank 59 is then rotated and through the medium of thesprocket chains 55 and 58 motion is imparted to the operating shafts 45which, in turn, actuate the worms 46 and worm gears 41 to rotate thethreaded rods 48 and thus elevate the sliding blocks 24 to bring therollers v28 and 29 at the top of the frame. The casket is then placed onthe roller 83 and moved sections 63 and 64 and roller 29 so as tosupport the casket in position to be lowered onto said lowering device.The levers 36 are then actuated so as to partially release the bolts 32and cause the inner ends thereof to yieldably engage the tongues I8.After the casket is in position f35 rearwardly over the roller 28,auxiliary roller on the rollers, the cam 44 is operated so as to causethe notched edge of the plate to engage the squared portion 38 of theroller 28 and thus prevent rotation thereof and consequently anytendency of a casket to slide rearwardly on the rollers. Prior tolowering the casket, the levers 10 are actuated to release the auxiliaryrollers 63 and 84 which, as previously stated, swing downwardly on theirpivotal axes 11 and out of the way, it being understood that theseauxiliary rollers are for the purpose of supporting the central portionof the casket when in position on the frame. The crank 59 is thenrotated to lower the sliding blocks 24 carrying the rollers and casket.As the sliding blocks 24 approach the lower ends of the vertical framesl1, the locking bolts 32 will enter the recesses 29 formed at the lowerends of the tongues I 8 and thus permit the spring 34 to entirelyretract said bolts and allow the bearing blocks carrying the rollers l28and 29 to swing downwardly on the pivot pins 30 at the side of the graveand thus permit the casket to be lowered within the grave by means ofthelowering device F or any other device provided for that purpose.

In Figure 4 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modified form of theinvention, in which a master beveled gear 84 is provided in lieu of thesprocket wheel 54. The master gear 84 meshes with beveled pinions 85secured to stub shafts 86, the outer ends of which are provided withbeveled pinions 81 meshing with correspondingly beveled pinions 88secured to the lower end of vertical shafts8 9.` The upper ends oftheshafts 89 are provided lwith beveled pinions 90 which,

.in turn, mesh with beveled gears.9l secured to ket placing devices maybe made in different sizes and shapes and constructed of any suitablematerial without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus-described the invention, what isV claimedras new is: Y 1

1. AA casket placing device including a frame adapted to be positionedover a grave, casket .supporting rollers yjournaled on the frame andeach having one .end thereof pivotally connected therewith, meansoperatively connected with the rollers for adjusting said rollersverticallyl of the frame, means for'locking the other end of eachroller, and means for automatically Areleasing the locking means whenthe rollers are in lowered position to permit said rollers to swingdownwardly at the side of the grave.

.,2. .A- casket placing deviceincluding aV frame' adapted tobepositioned over a grave, vertical guides secured to the frame, bearingblocks adjustable vertically within the guides, casket supportingrollers journaled in the bearing blocks, means for locking one end ofeach roller in the adjacent bearing block, a pivotal connection betweenYtheother end of each roller and the adjacent bearing block, meansoperatively con-4r nected with said bearing blocks for raising andlowering -the rollers, and means for automatically releasing thelockingmeans when the rollers are in lowered position to permit said rollers toswing downwardly on their pivots at one side of the grave. Y

3.`A casket placing device including a frame adapted to be positionedover a grave, ya roller mounted on the` frame and comprising coactingsections, the inner end of each of which is pivotally connected with theframe, means for locking the roller sections in horizontal position, andmeans for releasing the locking means to permit downward swingingmovement of the roller sections. f

4. A casket placing device comprising aframe adapted to be positionedover a grave and having means for engagement with a lowering device, Y

said frame including front and rear ends, longitudinal side barsdetachablysecured to said ends,

vertical guides depending from the longitudinal bars, bearing blocksVslidably mounted for vertical movement in said guide frames, threadedrods extending through the bearing blocks, worm gears carried by therods, casket supporting rollers journaled in said bearing blocks,operating shafts mounted for rotation on the frame and provided withworms meshing with the worm gears for raising and lowering the bearingblocks, operating means mounted on one end of the frame and operativelyconnected with the shafts for rotating said shafts, and means forautomatically releasing one end. of each roller from the adjacentbearing block when the rollers are in lowered position to permit saidrollers to swing downwardly at the side of the grave. y

5. A casket placing device including a longitudinally adjustable frame,verticalguides carried by the frame and provided Ywith tongues, one of ithe tongues of each guide terminating short of the bottom thereof toform a recess, guide blocks slidably mounted for vertical movement onsaid tongues .and provided with recesses opening through the lower edgesof the blocks, there being ka transverse opening formed in oneof theblocks .and intersecting the adjacent recess, bearing blocks fitted insaid recesses, a pivotal connection between one of the bearingblocks-and the adjacent guide block, casket .supportingrollers carriedby said bearing blocks, a locking bolt normally and yieldably engagingthe adjacent tongue and slidably mounted in the transverse opening andadapted to engage the adjacent bearing block for normally preventingdisplacement thereof, threaded rods .extending through said guideblocks, means at .one end of the frame and operatively connected withthe threaded rods for. rotating the .same to vertically .adjust theguide blocks, and a spring. operatively connected with `the bolt formoving the latter Within the recess at the end of the vertical guide.when the guide block is in lowered position topermit .said rollers toswing downwardly on their pivots on one side of the grave.

6. A casket placing device including a frame adapted to be .positionedover a grave, vertical guides secured to theframe, guide blocks mountedfor vertical movement in the guide frames,

bearing blocks carried by the guide blocks, vone of said bearing blocksbeinghpivotally mounted on the Vadjacent guide block and the otherdetachably secured thereto, casket supporting rollers secured to thebearing blocks and provided with angular portions, a safety catchmounted on the frame and movable into engagement with the angularportion on the roller to prevent rotation thereof, means for holding thedetachable bearing block in position, means operatively connected withthe guide blocks for raising and lowering the same, and means forautomatically releasing said holding means when the rollers are inlowered position to permit said rollers to swing downwardly at one sideof the grave.

, 7. A casket placing device comprising alongitudinally adjustableframe, vertical guides forming a part of the frame, guide blocksslidably mounted in said vertical guides, rollers carried by the guideblocks and each having one end 25 .adapted to be positioned over agrave, Vertical guides forming. part of the frame, guide blocks thereofpivotally connected with the 'adjacent Ythe detachable end of theroller, andmeans for automatically releasing the locking mechanism whenthe roller-is in lowered position to permit Ksaid roller to swingdownwardly at one side -of th 8. A-casket placing device. including aframe having longitudinally'adjustable side bars, a casing'.enclosingthe inner ends of said side bars, v'means extending throughthe casing and engag- -ing the' side bars for holding said side bars toadjusted position, vertical guides forming a part 'of lthe frame, guideblocks slidably mounted within the vertical guides, rollers carried bythe guide 4blocks, one end of each roller being pivotally connected withthe adjacent guide block and the other endof the roller .detachablysecured to the mating guide block, .locking means for normally holdingthedetachable end of the roller against displacement,means operativelyconnected with the guide blocks for raising and lowering the same, andmeans for .automatically releasing the `locking. means when the rollersare in lowered position to permit said rollers to swing downwardly atthe `side of the grave.

A9.Al.casket placing device including a frame slidably mounted in saidguides, rollers journaled in the guide blocks and each having one endthereofI pivotally connected therewith, means for raising and loweringthe guide blocks, and means for detaching the other end. of each rollerwhen the .guide blocks arein lowered position to permit the detachedends of the rollers to swing 4downwardly on their pivots.

10. The combination with a lowering device, of a casket placing deviceincluding a frame adapted to :be positioned over a grave and rest on the`lowering device,. casket supporting rollers journaled on `the frame andeach having one end Athereof pivotally vconnected therewith, meansopadapted tobe positioned over a grave and including longitudinal andtransverse rails, of a casket placing device comprising a frame providedwith vseats engaging the rails of the lowering device, verticallyadjustable casket support-.- ing rollers journaled on the frame and eachhaving one end thereof pivotally connected therewith, means-for lockingthe other end of each roller, means operatively connected with therollers for adjusting said rollers vertically of the frame, and meansfor automatically releasing the locking means when said rollers are inlowered position to permit the rollers ,to swing downwardly `on theirpivots at Athe side of the grave.

CLARENCE E. GEHLBACH.

